Biker survives two days in ditch

A LUCKY biker was recovering in hospital last night after spending more than two days lying in a roadside ditch badly injured.

The 40-year-old man was suffering from hypothermia when Doncaster police eventually found him, hidden from view next to a busy road, after a cross-border search involving two police forces.

Now they are appealing for information to establish how the motorcyclist came off his machine and ended up in the ditch alongside the A614 near Thorne.

The rider, who has not been named, is believed to have spent 52 hours undetected by other motorists, from around 8am last Wednesday, until just after 12pm on Friday when officers traced him by following what was thought to be his route.

It is believed the man from Goole was riding his black Kawasaki ZX6R along the A614 Selby Road in Thorne, Doncaster, towards Rawcliffe on Wednesday morning.

Traffic officers suspect he collided with a metal signpost on the off-side of the carriageway and then travelled approximately 200 metres further along the road before coming to rest in a ditch.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police confirmed: “The motorcyclist was hidden from view at the scene for 48 hours before being found at 12.13pm on Friday, September 14.”

He was suffering serious injuries including broken ribs and hypothermia and he is currently being treated at Doncaster Royal Infirmary.

Humberside Police launched a search on Wednesday after the rider was reported missing by his family.

Anyone with information is asked to call South Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 438 of September 14.